By: AJ McCreary, PICurrent Assistant Producer
In our busy lives sometimes it is hard to slow down, and think beyond doing the laundry, dinner plans, getting the kids to and from their activities, and on and on.
But beyond the daily stuff that is life, we need to take the time to think about our environment, the planet we call home. While it does not seem like there is much we as an individual can do, there is a lot, and in many simple ways.
- Recycling
- Using alternative transportation (walking, biking, taking the bus)
- Starting a compost
- Going paperless with your bills
I really like the last one. Making your bills paperless may seem a little intimidating, but with the advances of technology it is not only environmentally friendly, it’s easy!
According to the Javelin Strategy & Research report, going paperless with your bills will:
- Save 2.3 million tons of wood, or 16.5 million trees.
- Reduce fuel consumption by 26 million BTUs – enough energy to provide residential power to San Francisco for an entire year.
- Decrease toxic air pollutants by 3.9 billion pounds of CO2 equivalents (greenhouse gases), akin to having 355,000 fewer cars on the road.
- Reduce toxic waste water by 13 billion gallons, enough to fill almost 20,000 swimming pools.
- Lower solid waste generated by 1.6 billion pounds – equal to 56,000 fully loaded garbage trucks.
- Remove 8.5 million particulates and 12.6 million nitrogen oxides from the air – on par with taking 763,000 buses and 48,000 18-wheelers off the streets
Better than just being easy on the earth, paperless bills:
- Save you time: the process is faster, bills statements can be sent to you email, and paid on the spot
- Save you money: on stamps and envelopes, costly late fees if you forget, as well as if the company processes your check way after the fact
- Save you grief:: electronic payments are rarely lost
For more information:
Automatic bill pay companies: Pay Trust or XPress Bill Pay
